SIGNED CHEN ZHONGSAN, BEIJING, DATED A SUMMER DAY IN THE GENGXU YEAR, CORRESPONDING TO 1910

Details

**AN INSIDE-PAINTED GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE
SIGNED CHEN ZHONGSAN, BEIJING, DATED A SUMMER DAY IN THE GENGXU YEAR, CORRESPONDING TO 1910
Of flattened form with a slightly concave lip and recessed, convex oval foot surrounded by a footrim, painted with ink and watercolors with a continuous scene of a lotus pond, one side with an egret beneath flowering plants above water and the other with two carp and two fan-tailed goldfish amidst aquatic plants, inscribed in draft script, 'Made on a Summer day in the gengxu year (corresponding to 1910) by Chen Zhongsan', with one illegible seal, turquoise stopper with pearl finial
2 in. (6.27 cm.) high

Provenance

K. Rosenstrom
Sotheby's, London, 7 February 1978, lot 187
Hugh M. Moss Ltd.

Literature

Moss, Graham, Tsang, The Art of the Chinese Snuff Bottle. The J & J Collection, Vol. 2, no. 448

Exhibited

Christie's New York, 1993
Empress Place Museum, Singapore, 1994
Museum für Kunsthandwerk, Frankfurt, 1996-1997
Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1997
Naples Museum of Art, Florida, 2002
Portland Museum of Art, Oregon, 2002
National Museum of History, Taipei, 2002
International Asian Art Fair, Seventh Regiment Armory, New York, 2003
Poly Art Museum, Beijing, 2003

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

Lot Essay

Chen Zhongsan appears to have been one of the many artists who began by copying the works of Zhou Leyuan. While he did not sign his works until 1907, his style is instantly recognizable as his own, with contrasting composition and effective choice of colors, even though most of his subjects were derivative and his style more decorative than that of Zhou Leyuan.

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